Vinicius double helps Brazil past Scotland into World Cup knockouts

MIAMI: Vinicius Junior scored twice as Brazil romped into the second round of the World Cup as Group C winners with a 3-0 victory over Scotland on Wednesday (Jun 24), a result that left the Scots relying on other results going their way to progress.

The electric Real Madrid forward opened the scoring courtesy of a Scottish mix-up in the seventh minute and added his second with a header in first-half stoppage time before Matheus Cunha rounded out the scoring on the hour mark.

The comfortable win, which featured the return after a long absence of Neymar, combined with Morocco's 4-2 win over Haiti put Brazil on the road to Houston, where they will meet the Netherlands, Japan or Sweden next Monday.

Scotland, who disappointed their Tartan Army with a timid and error-prone display in the first half, will now hope to advance as one of the eight third-placed teams with the best records over the 12 groups.